Sorry about that. Family related events prevented me from posting until now... If I missed anything, toss me a PM!

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"Jake," The AI responded "Currently there are no... Please wait. Extreme Danger: I am detecting life in a part of the ship I had originally lost access to. My scans may be 35% accurate, but I am unable to track two of the surviving crew members. Please attempt to detect if Command Stations are accessible, if is accessible by ventilation, please secure and repair the ventilation before the crew members are cut off. Priority 1!"

There was no way to access the Bridge, only the damaged vents that Ace and David had used. The bridge seemed to be a wreck. The integrity of the connected rooms seemed barely intact. Bent, warped walls. Destroyed electronics. It was easy to see two things, why the AI could not "see" the area, and why the AI wouldn't want anyone in. Virtually nothing is in working condition, and anyone who was caught in the room was clearly killed. Either burned, crushed, or smashed.

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"Iskierka," The AI requested as she moved throughout the Maintenance tunnels. The few monitors would display her avatar. "I am Detecting a life-sign, weak, in your proposed route. Please Investigate Medical Lab D."

"Alright, lets see what....we....have...to....work....Shit...." David trailed off as he saw the state of the Bridge, It was clearly a high value target in the attack."Riiiiiggghhhhtttt....huh....not sure if there is anything of value here..." He said as he looked around."Well, good news is we can still take the vents back, just have to climb into the non-broken part..."

"If it's not too much trouble, I need you to stop by the Medical Wing. If theres a bottle with the name E-17 on it, grab it. It's for my migranes." Johann said into his microphone, presumably to Ace. Jake smiled at what he overheard and reached into his satchel.

However he was unable to find a bottle of E-17's, which was odd because he should have, he actually had the med's of any member who had been red flagged in his report but there was no need to explain that to anyone.

The AI responded to Jake's inquiry "Currently there are no... Please wait. Extreme Danger: I am detecting life in a part of the ship I had originally lost access to. My scans may be 35% accurate, but I am unable to track two of the surviving crew members. Please attempt to detect if Command Stations are accessible, if is accessible by ventilation, please secure and repair the ventilation before the crew members are cut off. Priority 1!"

"Whoa, whoa, you're telling me Ace and David are trapped in there? And the only way in is a ventilation shaft that they sent smashing to the floor?! Not really sure what I can do for them but I'll head over there." Jake noticed Eli sleeping in the corner of the mess hall, he could be useful but Jake didn't want to wake him up.

"Wait a second...Codex can you get a hold of Marcus, we could use his help on this if he's not busy. Last I heard he was outside the ship, I want to make sure he isn't floating through space, either way." Jake said moving towards the door, unsure of what to do.

*Snort* "Huhwazzit?" Eli woke suddenly, his face slightly damp from where he'd been drooling on the table. Blinking a few time to get his bearings he looked about, seeing Jake moving towards the door. "Hey what's happening?" He said, following. "We made contact with the other ship yet?"

Ace opened his eyes to see David tearing off the end of the vent, giving him enough wiggle space to exit. He thanked his luck, and David's expertise, for leaving unscathed. He stood up and realized he had a limp, leaning on his left leg. "I don't think it's serious, I can w-walk," Ace said and followed David.

He wondered what he really should thank this time. His luck had let him live through the attack, there was no question about that. But what was letting him live now and what would let him escape was a different force entirely. Or was it? Should he even doubt his luck? Was his doubt slowly killing him? No, fuck luck. I have friends now. People I can rely on. They won't die... His head wound suddenly stung, the pain disappearing as quickly as it came.

"Dammit, I thought there might be something here...Alright shit, uuuhhhhh, Take a look around for anything that isn't broken." David ordered as he went back to where he found the Axe to begin his search.

Johann rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed exasperatedly."All, I'm headed from E-deck to G-deck to find a view of the unknown vessel. Is there anyone in the area of G-deck and, if so, is there anything anyone needs from the intervening decks?"Johann terminated the link to Ace, and linked his headset to Iskierka's comm."It's Johann. If you stop by the Medical Wing, please can you obtain a few bottles of the E-17 pills. It is rather urge-"Johann gritted his teeth as a surge of pain lanced through his temples. He took a deep breath, then continued."It is rather urgent, so speed would be appreciated."

Iskierka had only just confirmed Codex's words when she received another message. "It's Johann. If you stop by the Medical Wing, please can you obtain a few bottles of the E-17 pills. It is rather urge - It is rather urgent, so speed would be appreciated." Johann said, interrupted by a slight grunt of pain.

"I'm headed that way now. I'll grab all the bottles I can find and meet you in the Mess." she replied, altering her course slightly to take her toward the medical bay. Accessing her ship map, she crawled and slid down several decks through the network of maintenance tubing. she shuddered to think of how impossible the system would be to navigate without a map.

Eventually, she reached a lab on H-deck, similar to the room she had awoken in not long ago. The room was enormous, filled with enough beds to house all the victims the Aurora had expected to find. The bodies of several medical staff lay strewn about on the floor; they never had a chance. The lab was filled with massive medical equipment and endless jars of medical supplies, all labeled with incomprehensible names. After a few seconds looking at the materials, she found a case marked "E-17". she grabbed the jar of pills and put it aside. Iskierka activated her comm-link and sent off a message to Johann. "Johann, I found the pills, I'll be back up the the Mess as soon as I investigate a life sign Codex picked up."

The medical supplies obtained, she started to search the room for the one living being still supposedly here, keeping an eye out for any medical supplies that might come in hand. Ignoring the obviously dead, she slowly started making her way around, checking the pulse of everyone who could be alive. Along the way, she found some more advanced supplies to supplement her first aid kit which she added for future need. She also took an access card from one of the medical officers in the event it was needed later.

After some time, she sensed the last still living person. She heard him before she saw him. The man lay between several of the hospital mattresses; likely the only reason he survived. He was dressed in a white smock with an undershirt and matching pants. The man had ruffled curly brown hair upon his head, stained with blood from a long gash on his forehead. A badge on his chest read "Phillip Day, British, Level 2 Cook C"

After finding him, Iskierka grabbed the nearest piles of bandages, adhesives, pain killer she could find. She carefully moved the man so he was on his back, his neck resting on a nearby pillow. After checking the medical database to ensure he was not allergic to that particular pain med, she placed a pair of them on his tongue and washed them down with a swig from a nearby water bottle, all while keeping his head steady in case he had more serious internal injuries. She then proceeded to bandage up the head wound.

About halfway through the process, Phillip started to awaken, moaning groggily, his eyes fluttering to life. "Mr. Day, you have taken an injury to your head. I am trying to bandage you, but I need you to please hold still." she said, looking him in the eyes to keep his attention.

Eli awoke from his slumber "Hey what's happening? We made contact with the other ship yet?"

"Not quite yet, there seems to be a bit of a situation on the bridge, two of our fellow crew members may or may not be trapped, I'm headed over to have a look around, you can join me if you want." Jake said standing in the doorway.

Peered around blearily as he came to, he instinctively raised a hand to tentatively feel the wound on his head. With a groggy moan he blinked the fuzzyness from his eyes and spotted Iskierka, with a shout of protest he tried to bat her away weakly. After a minute or so he managed to gain his bearings and reached down, brandishing the knife at the woman. "You! Who are you?! Did you do this? How... How do you know who I am?"

For a moment, her attempt to keep the man calm seemed to work; she continued to bandage the injury. Then, in a flurry of motion, the man reached into some pocket, and drew forth a small knife, swinging it toward her. The knife caught her on her arm, making a short cut. Iskierka cringed slightly at the pain. "You! Who are you?! Did you do this? How... How do you know who I am?" the man said, confusion and panic in his voice as he rolled away from her, trying to keep his distance, the bandage starting to unravel.

Iskierka took a second to clench her minor wound, trying to prevent any unnecessary blood loss, while backing away from the befuddled chef. "Relax. My name is Iskierka Capek; I'm part of Aurora's science team. The ship was attacked and took a lot of damage. I assume you were hurt in the blast. As for your name, the ID badge on your chest was a good hint." she answered, sill backing away behind a medical table, her real hand held up to indicate her good intent, her other hand still clutching the minor wound. "I found you here a few minutes ago. You have a fairly serious head wound. I was trying to patch it up when you awoke." she finished, pointing at the pile of medical supplies where she had been sitting. When he turned his head involuntarily to see what she was pointing at, Iskierka quickly grabbed a scalpel with her real hand and slipped it up her sleeve; she didn't want to hurt the confused cook, but she didn't want to continue to be unarmed while a half crazed man shook a knife at her.

Philip takes a deep breath, the hand holding the knife shaking slightly, the point dancing around in the air erratically. After some time of holding the knife towards her he lowered it slowly, taking a step back and knocking over a tray ladened with various medical implements that clattered the ground, he raised his free hand to his head and let out a pained groan. "Argh... my head..." He glanced down at the ID badge and raises his eyebrows, it having obviously slipped his mind that he was still wearing it. "Sorry... ugh... sorry. Argh, my head is killing me..." He stumbled forward and leant on the bed he previously occupied, taking deep breathes.

After what felt like hours, Philip lowered his weapon and with groans of pain, moved to his bed. in doing so, he knocked over medical tools and breathed deeply, muttering apology's and the pain in his head as he did so. While he did so, Iskierka grabbed some alcohol and a small adhesive bandage , using then to fix patch her arm.

When that was done, she turned to the groaning cook. "The pain should pass soon. I gave you some pain killers before you awoke. That wound however still needs to be dressed. If you will let me, I can finish the work I started." she offered, still wary of the knife in his hands.

Nodding he turned, tucking the knife back into a pocket inside his shirt. After turning back around he eyed Iskierka warily, not entirely sure what to think of her. He climbed up back onto the bed, hands tense by his side, watching her with a careful eye, not wanting to let her out of his sight for a minute. "What... What did you say happened to the ship? We get attacked or something?" He pauses only for a second. "You a medic, do you know what you're doing?"

Receiving the go ahead, Iskierka moved in closer, continuing her task of wrapping the bandage. It was a tense moment and she did not want to break it for fear of the knife. Fortuitously, he chose to cut the tension himself. "What... What did you say happened to the ship? We get attacked or something?" he said, pausing for a moment then continued. [/b]"You a medic, do you know what you're doing?"[/b] he asked, a little worried.

"We don't know all the details yet - we only just got the A.I. Core back online and we haven't had much time to take stock of the situation. We've been running all over the ship trying to make the necessary repairs for function. As far as I know, the ship was hit with some kind of missile while the ship jumped to F.T.L. We're not even sure where we are right now - just not in the same solar system we started in." She said while working on the injury.

"As for being a medic, I'm a doctor, but not of medicine. I do know basic first aid; meaning I can bandage a wound and figure out if you have a concussion, but don't ask me to diagnose any diseases." She said, tying off the bandage. "And done." she said, backing off and whipping her hands on a nearby rag to remove the excess blood.

"What bits survived? Do we know how many people survived?" He glances around the room at some of the bodies, running a hand through his hair, catching on a blood-matter clump of hair. "Shit..." He swings his legs off the bed and nods his thanks to her.

"Well, I guess you don't know mean 'cus I certainly don't know you but I'm one of the guys who keep the crew running, I work in catering. I don't suppose you know how much of it survived do you?" He plucks a pair of forceps from a bench next to the bed and twirls them around his fingers, it occasionally slipping through the gap where his middle finger should be and clattering to the floor. "What are you doing here anyway? Shouldn't you be with the techies fixing this thing up?"

Before the crash, he was assigned to be a cook. It was a good position, Not much fighting, and he wasn't going to be dropped to Mars. But once he was on, walking the halls. He saw a familiar face. And that face saw him. When the other cook turned away, Philip had no choice but to chase after him. What if he was accused? What if they were going to look into his past? Find out too much... In the midst of an attack, a chase ensued. The two ran through halls. Security was already pre-occupied as the two ran down halls, labs, and eventually in the med-lab when the torpedo hit. Philip, and the man he was chasing was tossed around the room.

The other individual wasn't so lucky, but a few mattresses was able to ensure Philip didn't crack his neck, or break a few ribs... but that head injury might be serious.

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"Jake," The AI responded. "Marcus's last location was in the Engine room... He is an area where my Scanners are inefficient. If you wish, I can assign an objective so that his Hud-Gear can pick up the request."

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As David and Ace looked around the Bridge, they would find no shortage of Magazines, Handguns, Badges, and PDA's. 8 Cullers, 16 magazines in total. The two might be able to find one working console, even though the screen was cracked. However, it mostly had complicated logs for weapons control.

Actually... David would be able to understand this information. 2 port Flak Cannons were active, mostly by the back, and most, 14 Flak Cannons were active at the Starboard side of the ship. Minuitions were at approximately 12%, they'd have enough to fight off about 10 ships, assuming the crew were properly trained. Most of the Ship's auto-cannons were either out of ammo, or destroyed. Two remained in usable conditions, near the front Starboard side, but ammunition might be enough to take out a small frigate.

"Alright, This trip went better then I thought..." David said before he tuned into the others."All Units, West Here, I've found Cullers, 8 with 2 Mags each, Also a Console with status for the Ship's Weapons, 2 port-side Flak Cannons are active, 14 Active on Starboard, enough Ammo to fight off at least 10 Ships and 2 Auto-Cannons are still usable on Starboard, Might be a while getting back but it's doable, West Out." He said as he motioned for Ace to help him gather the Cullers.

"Not quite yet, there seems to be a bit of a situation on the bridge, two of our fellow crew members may or may not be trapped, I'm headed over to have a look around, you can join me if you want."

"Sure, if they're stuck they might need a hand getting free." Eli replied, stepping into the hall. His nap unfortunately hadn't been all that restful; an angry mob yelling and clawing at him, blaming him for the attack and deaths simply because of his brother.

Dreams like this, him being blamed just because of his family, had plagued him since his brother's attack on the Capeks. Add to that the real world investigations and scorn from those he'd thought friends had lead him to really withdraw from the world...until now, lost who knows where in space the adrenalin had brought him out a bit more, but once it truly crashed...he didn't like to think what might happen.

Phillip shot questions at her in rapid succession. Iskierka barely had time to think of the answer before the next was asked. When he finally stopped, Iskierka finally started to answer them. "As far as I know most of the ship is in one piece. the majority of the damage is on G-deck where the bridge's are." she answered his first question, while searching for any last minute medical equipment that might come in handy.

"As for survivors, you're the eighth one I've seen, myself included. The survivors are 2 engineers, a security officer, a diplomat, a musician, a psychologist, and the two of us." she answered the next, grabbing Johann's medication from the table.

"I'm afraid I don't know the state of catering - people or equipment, but Mess Hall 4 has been the de facto command centre so I can only assume some of the equipment is in one piece. As for Catering staff... I'm very sorry." she said, sorry to break the news to the chef - she didn't know if he knew anyone or not, but a little sympathy could never hurt.

"As for why I'm here; Codex picked up your life signs and asked me to check on you. What more, the diplomat I mentioned has some special medication he needed. I happened to be in the area so I dropped by after fixing the reactor." she finished, heading for the tubing to escape the medical lab.

"Now, I intend to head up to the mess hall, hand over these pills, and make my way to the bridge to try and get a good look at an incoming vessel Codex picked up. you're welcome to come along if you would like." she offered, her hand on the maintenance cover.

As she said this, West came on over the comm-link, delivering a status report. "That's a pretty good idea" she thought, before activating her comm-link. "Johann, I have your medication here. I am headed up to the mess hall to deliver it. David, if you're on the bridge, do you have a view of the incoming ship? I don't want to be caught unaware if the ship is hostile." she said, finishing her temporary report out.

Returning her attention the the chef, she made a quick suggestion. "Mr. Day, if you want to introduce yourself, now's as good-a-time as any." she offered, handing him her still charged HUD.

Ace gave David a thumbs up and started collecting the Cullers. 1...2...3...4... Ace counted, picking up the weapons and tossing them into a crate. He wanted to focus on his work and his work only, not wanting to let his mind wonder off. He was calm now. He wasn't stuck in a tight space, he wasn't questioning his luck and he was actually helping someone. His speciality wasn't strength but he was glad he could help nevertheless. 5...6...7...8! He put the remaining Cullers in the crate and indicated that he had finished.

Jake and Eli headed towards the bridge, West called in with a status report that calmed the situation.

"Hey David wouldn't it be best to make sure our Starboard side is showing towards this incoming ship, if it is hostile we don't want to get caught with our pants down." Jake offered this over his comm-link.

Codex responded to his earlier inquiry. "Jake, Marcus's last location was in the Engine room... He is an area where my Scanners are inefficient. If you wish, I can assign an objective so that his Hud-Gear can pick up the request."

"You know I'd hate to seem like the nagging mother but it may be best to let him know we haven't forgotten about him." Jake replied.

"I'm afraid I don't know the state of catering - people or equipment, but Mess Hall 4 has been the de facto command centre so I can only assume some of the equipment is in one piece. As for Catering staff... I'm very sorry." she said. Philip nodded and frowned, not saying a word as he listened to her, once she was done he slid off the bed and onto his feet, wobbling slightly.

He took the HUD from her and nodded his thanks "Don't you need it?" he asked. He peered around the room and spoted some legs poking round from a corner, clad in similar clothing to him"I uhm... just remembered why I came here... I'll catch up with you, just gotta find something." with that he began to meander around the room, looking as if he didn't have a general direction he was heading in, taking occasional glances over his shoulder at Iskierka.

"Capec, I'll get back to you on that, Jake, If I can, I'll do that though this place is shot to hell, Besides, I thought the AI had control over that." David answered as he tried to get a Window that wasn't sealed up due to damage.

"Don't you need it?" Phillip asked. "Well, I do want it back; I'm just letting you borrow it until we can get yours up and running." she said as he took it. After taking it, he said "I uhm... just remembered why I came here... I'll catch up with you, just gotta find something. then started searching the room.

There was something in his voice and actions that made Iskierka suspicious, but she let it go - with only eight people left, they hardly needed conflict. "Do you need any help?" she offered, unsure of how he would respond.

"No, no. No help necessary..." He slowly meandered his way around the room before coming to a stop next to the body of the other chef. He kneeled down and positioned himself to obscure his actions, all the while inspecting the body, mainly surveying the face to see where he recognised it from.

Johann deactivated the comm, and laid down on the mess table he was currently seated on. He closed his eyes, attempting to ignore the throb in his temples."Might as well get some sleep," he thought. He had a sense that his skills would be needed once they docked with the alien station.

One of the things that had happened in Philip's past, when he had done his dirty deed. There was another chef, helping him. An assistant, although the two never really had one "outranking" the other. During that time, his friend, Michael had been rather suspicious of him. They had to be careful, after all, for someone this important.

For the longest time, it seemed like Philip would get away, but it was Michael who finally tipped the authorities. He started the hunt.

But now here he was. The same scar to the left of his eye from before... A few obviously broken bones would seal the dead, and the fact his face was frozen in a state of tired shock. Any stories he could have told will remain a secret. But any story that he already told... Well, who knows? Did he tell any stories?

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David was only able to find one window in perfect condition. At the slightest hint of a crack, a heavy metal sheet would cover the window preventing explosive decompression. The windows were typically small, and difficult to hit, and these sheets could deploy and strengthen these weak points within a quarter of a second.

The one still open window would tell him very little.

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"Eli," The AI might spook the engineer as it appeared on a few nearby monitors to relay a message. "I have intercepted, and possibly decoded another Analogue signal. Do you wish to hear it?"

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Marcus's turn! If your still around, my good friend, You have a new objective! The AI would notify you that your services are required...

A new Objective has been updated on your HUD-Gear"JAKE Assigned Objective:Assistance required at Maintenance Hall D1-7. Damage to ventilation required repairs to ensure the safety of two crew-members."

David tried his best but even with his keen eye, he couldn't see a damn thing.He radioed it in.

"Capk-Kapt-Ca....Whatever your name is, I got a window but I can't confirm or deny a Incoming ship, not from here, We've gathered the Cullers and no, I can't seem to stir this thing, if anyone wants to have a go, I'll bring them down, Ace and I are heading back, West Out." He said before he took a look for a ladder or something they could stack to reach the vent.

Philip stared at the face until a look of recognition crossed his face, then silent horror at the familiar face. He leant over the body and quickly searched the pockets of his departed colleague, still using his own body to shield the actions from Iskierka if she was still watching, he took anything of significance from the pockets and deposited them in his own, including any money in there before looking over his shoulder, checking if she was watching.

Iskierka, having been told her aid was not needed but still requiring her HUD back, decided to wander about the room looking for any other medical supplies that might come in handy, adding them to her kit. She discreetly kept an eye on the chef; unwilling to let the man who had pulled a knife on her go completely unattended but otherwise ignoring him. She saw him bend over another man - a chef by clothing - and chose to lend him some privacy by heading toward the other end of the room, having assumed the dead man was a friend of the eighth survivor. When Phillip had finished his search, she was busy reading medical e-journal one of the medics had left pen before his or her untimely death.

Philip frowned deeply and peered over his shoulder at Iskierka, positive she wouldn't notice as she was nose deep in an e-journal he pulled the knife out, slowly sinking it into Michael's chest. 'Better safe than sorry' he thought as the knife cut into his heart. Philip turned the body over so the knife wound wasn't immediately noticeable. He wiped the knife on Michael's trouser leg before standing, a little too fast and wobbling on the spot, the head wound still giving him some trouble. After a few seconds of stumbling he forced a smile at Iskierka, he still looked a little shocked from the realization of the fellow chef. "Alright, you all done here?"

"Alright, you all done here?" Phillip asked, drawing from the medical book on some cybernetic procedure. The topic had been mostly arcane to her, but she understood the basic principles - in part due to her own arm. "I've been done for quite a while. If you're done..." she paused for a moment, choosing her words delicately so as not to say something offensive. "with your friend, Johann - the diplomat I mentioned - needs his medication" she concluded, grabbing the jar from the table and heading toward the tube from which she entered.

Before she did however, she turned back to him. "If you're done with it, can I have my HUD back? These tunnels are hard enough to navigate with a map and I don't want to be found dead in one of these passages a month from now." she said with a little more snark than she intended. "Worse, if they find you with my HUD and a bloody knife while I'm lost in the labyrinthine tunnel system, imagine how awkward that would be." she said with a slight laugh while pointing at her minor wound, never realizing the unfortunate implication she made.

Philip narrows his eyes, looking down at the HUD, quick look of hesitation crossing his face, with an almost threatening silence he threw the HUD back to her. "Yes. Very awkward." He forced another smile, unconvincing before trudging through the room over to the tube she was about to enter all the while eyeing her warily, suspiciously. 'What if she knows... wouldn't it be easier to just do it now before it spread?' He thought, raising a hand unconsciously to toy with the handle of the knife.